Disability royal commissioners under fire

Labor has joined the Greens' push to dump two disability royal commissioners over potential conflicts of interest.

The driving force behind the inquiry, Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, almost has the numbers to pass a motion calling for the two commissioners to stand down.

Labor's support means the minor party needs four of the six crossbenchers to get the non-binding motion through the upper house on Thursday.

On Tuesday night, Senator Steele-John said Barbara Bennett was an inappropriate royal commissioner because she worked for the federal government department which oversees the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

"In addition to this, she has in the past shown failures in judgment around her engagement with the political side of this place, having once fronted the WorkChoices campaign for the Howard government," he told parliament.

He also singled out John Ryan, a former state Liberal politician turned public servant, who has worked as a senior bureaucrat in community services and disability.

"NSW is ground zero for disability abuse in Australia, and John Ryan was an executive member of the public service which was part of that process," Senator Steele-John said.